Bears Fall to #8 Penn, 12-5

Apr 23, 2011

PROVIDENCE, RI – Trailing, 3-1, 18 minutes into the game #8 Penn (10-4, 6-1) called a timeout and went on a six-goal run to grab a 7-3 lead and go on to defeat the Brown women's lacrosse team (6-8, 1-5), 12-5, on a raw and damp Saturday afternoon at Stevenson Field.

After Penn grabbed a 1-0 lead on a goal by Bridget Waclawik just 40 seconds into the game, the Bears responded with three straight goals by three different players to take a 3-1 lead at the 17:42 mark. Freshman Danielle Mastro (Endicott, NY) tied the score at 1-1 when she connected on a feed by junior Kaela McGilloway (Sea Cliff, NY) at 9:02 before senior Paris Waterman (Newark, DE) gave Brown a 2-1 lead five minutes later with an unassisted score.

Senior Alexa Caldwell (Middletown, DE) put away another feed by McGilloway at 17:42, giving the Bears a 3-1 lead and prompting Penn to call a timeout.

The Quakers came out of the break with a sense of urgency and back-to-back goals by Erin Brennan in a span of two minutes tied the score at 3-3 with 8:33 left in the half.

Penn would close the half with three goals in the final seven minutes to take a 6-3 lead into the break. A goal by Tory Bensen just 6:13 into the second half capped the run and gave the Quakers a 7-3 lead.

Freshman Bre Hudgins (Syracuse, NY) ended the Penn scoring spree when she connected on a free position shot at 9:36 to bring the Bears to within 7-4, but Penn responded with three straight goals to hold a 10-4 lead with just under 15 minutes left to play.

Waterman's second of the day closed the lead to five at the 23:28 mark, but that was as close as Brown would get, as Penn scored two more goals in the last four minutes to account for the 12-5 final.

For the game, Penn held a 30-15 advantage in shots, while Brown won the ground ball battle, 22-16. Both teams collected nine draw controls.

Emily Leitner came up big in the cage for the Quakers, stopping six shots, including four in the second half, while junior Isabel Harvey (Baltimore, MD) made seven saves (10 goals against) in 52:26, before giving way to senior Maggie Suprey (South Boston, MA), who had one save (2 goals against) in the final 7:34.

Hudgins and Caldwell led the Bears with five ground balls each, while Waterman and Caldwell each had two draw controls to lead Brown. Caldwell led Brown with two caused turnovers.

The Bears return to action on Wednesday, April 27th, when they host Yale in their 2011 season finale. Game time is set for 4:00 p.m.